Dusty Delhi

And so the wrap-up post.

On my last day I had a look around the old hippy trail center of Delhi. Charitably it might be described as Delhi's Khao San Road (Bangkok). The road is called Main Bazar, Pahar Ganj. It is full of shops selling "Indian" handicfrafts from all over the subcontinent. A couple of drug-victim hippy types described the shops as selling "tourist rubbish" but to my eyes matched their clothes exactly! Actually all the westerners I saw on the road were wearing "Indian" patterns of some description. The road had rooms for rent by the month, but I have a feeling some had been there decades. I went to find this shop:

Which had essential oils, Tia will be pleased. Also my eldest son is called Stanley, so it felt right. Most of the road looks like this:

And the verdict:

On India as a destination, you have to choose wisely. Personally I wouldn't come back to Delhi unless I had to. All the other Koenig places have major advantages over Delhi: the mountains in Shimla & Dehradun (& the clean air!), the beach at Goa. 

The training (and everyone I have spoken to agrees) is absolutely top notch, and the class sizes never seem to exceed 2. 

Is it worth it? Absolutely although I cannot wait to get back to London. No car horns. No dust. 

And would I do it again? Yes, but I would try try try to avoid Delhi for as much of it as possible! Sorry to all those reading this in Delhi, I just haven't adapted well. I'm sure it's lovely really.

Thank you for reading.

Goodbye.

Simon Fisher

RHCE

Amazing Agra

I went to Agra. The journey was 4.5 hours by car from Delhi. When we got to Agra my nice taxi driver (Shiva) stopped to let a man in named Khallid. He was my guide apparently. I liked my taxi driver, but I wasn't too sure about Khallid. We'll see....

First stop was my terribly posh hotel to check in and attend to my toilet, as us upper class people say. Oh

my what a nice room. 

Then off to the Taj Mahal, which is unbelievably beautiful. No photo really does it justice. The first time you see it properly your heart skips a beat. My guide proved to be very knowledgeable about the place and went to great lengths to describe its total symmetry. It was built by the Shah Jahan in memory of his 3rd wife who died aged 39. The symmetry was spoilt by his son (who succeeded him by force, imprisoning him in Lal Qila for 8 years) when he had his father entombed alongside Mumtaz Mahal. Her tomb was dead centre. His is to the left as you enter. However if you ignore that, the symmetry is very precise. The gardens to the east match those to the west. On the west a mosque was built, so on the east side a replica building was created called the Royal Palace. The marble has precious stones inlaid and some crushed stones in the surface which makes it sparkle in the sun.

I found this little parrot hiding in a tree. This is not a crop, this is a 1000mm lens doing what it should do!

And here is what my hotel looked like by night. I chose to eat in the Rajastani restaurant where I had paneer tikka and Laal Maas. Very nice too. I then read a book in the bar with a couple of beers. This is the life!!

I was kind of hoping the guide would not bother coming along tomorrow as I wanted just a quiet stroll around the Red Fort on my own.

The next day: Red Fort (or Lal Qila). I think this is almost as impressive, but it is less easily photographed. I tried....(but first, a monkey). The guide DID show up.

This was where functions were held.

This is the open court yard where there was indeed a court. The ruler sat up on a stage and delivered verdicts on various scallywags who were being represented by the 17th century equivalents of defence lawyers.

And this. the fortified wall. 

After this my guide tried to sell me carpets and stone products etc by sending me to various handicraft stores. This is quite annoying. As if I am suddenly going to cough up £1000 for a table or a rug without my wife's permission!

There were 2 things I wanted: Essential Oils and Raw Silk. So I ask him to ring round to see if he can find any sellers. Whilst he is doing so I try to sneak off BUT he follows! Every shop I go into he follows me into as if to prove he took me there so he should get a cut of what I spend! I get annoyed and walk around the taxi 7 times. He follows me round 7 times. I give up.

Actually we do eventually find a silk shop but that is where I say goodbye to the guide: I am not sad to see Khallid go. On the way back to Delhi, Shiva and I listen to the first test match and talk cricket. 

Delhi Delights

Delhi is a little quieter today. In advance of all the fireworks later. I had a shopping day. First off to "Moments Mall". I decided to go by metro train using a smartcard, which I charged up with the massive amount of £1.20. Found a pair of trainers that actually fit, which was a bonus. And had one of these at the food court:

MMMMmmmmasala dosa. Hopped back on the metro to Connaught Place. This a pair of concentric circular streets around a park. It is a main shopping district. It is supposedly classic Delhi architecture, but looks a little knackered to me. Bought some tourist tat, then back on the metro for Karol Barg market looking for raw silk, but the only raw silk shop was closed for Diwali so I came back to the Inn and took loads of movies of fireworks! Cant post them here so here is a photo:

Off to Agra tomorrow and doing an overnight stop. I was offered a guest house or (for about £35 more) a "nice" hotel. I opted for nice. They have booked me in here. I will NOT want to leave! The Wyndham Grand, Agra

Exam Results

What do I know? 89% in the RHCSA, and 95% in the RHCE! BRING IT ON!!!!!!

The Exam

So the train last night exceeded even the morning train. This time they brought: a bottle of water, a sandwich, a samosa, tea, nuts, a chocolate bar, cake, soup & bread, paneer curry, dhal, rice, chappattis, pickles, yoghurt, bananas & ice cream. I made it my goal to listen to every song by the National that I have on my mp3 player (5 albums, and two extended EPs). Basically this took me up to the outskirts of Delhi. Delhi is mad, sorry if I am repeating myself. I don't feel comfortable here. The Koenig Inn deluxe is nice, the room is small but very modern. Breakfast was Ok, but I was too nervy to eat. The RHCSA exam in the morning went well. I think I probably passed that one with a pretty high score. However I am concerned that I may have screwed up the RHCE. I got caught up in a problem with one service and didn't really have time to check the work I had done on all the other services. Time was very tight. My guess is that I got between 90 & 100 for part one, and somewhere between 65 & 80 for the second. Anything less than 70 is a fail so I am now biting my nails. The Koenig Inn Deluxe is in a part of town dominated by a major road. Walking anywhere is problematic. However I did take a stroll to a beer shop so I could lie on my bed and calm down. Some Diwali lights:

Nirmesh, thanks for the comment. the web nanny rules here don't allow me to post replies or comments! I hope all is well up there in Dehradun. I wish I was still there....

Rajpur

Rajpur is a small village about 2km from the Country House. Just beyond it is some glorious countryside. Look.

A pretty-in-pink house.

A gloriously tumbledown house.

A monkey too intent on snacking to care about me. These crazy monkeys eat anything.

A panorama of the beautiful and not-so-distant hills.

Is the countryside growing into BIG TAP or is the countryside pouring out of BIG TAP?

Oooh, I found a river.

And a contented, recumbent cow.

Proof that it was me taking this hike.

The river again. Oddly there was an English family frolicking in it. They arrived in a 4x4. Lightweights.

Thousands of butterflies. I managed to hypnotise this one into posing for me. Thank you Madam.

These decorations make everything look good.

A severely strangled tree.

As I walked through Rajpur first time I noticed CHAYA, a cafe that had free wifi and did proper coffee & pizza. That's my lunch sorted I thought, but at 1pm they were closed. I thought I may have to travel into town but no! Sunil hands me a Domino's menu and a pizza arrives. Blogging & Pizza. They go together like ham and sandwich.

Goodbye Dehradun

The Country House students. From left to right: Alicia, Nirmesh. Lukas & myself.

This was our last evening meal at the house on Friday. We spent Saturday back at Black Pepper in town, which was great fun.

Here are some birds on the unfinished building opposite the school. The evening had set in, and the odd monochromatic light makes this looks less like a photo and more like a pen drawing.

Next stop Delhi.

Photo Dump

And so, some more pics. This one is the dining room at Dehradun. The food on offer today was Chilli Chicken, Dhal, Salad, Rice, Fries & Chappatis. Noah, Nirmesh & Lukas have not wasted any time getting stuck in.

Actually Nirmesh has indeed waited.

When I got back to my room tonight I got a new pet! He (or she) is a gecko. I shall call it Gordon. I'm going to assume male.

It's a bit pale isn't it? He needs to get out in the sun I think. Get a tan. I tried to get closer but Gordon hid behind a painting. I don't know if he's shy, or playing hide and seek. But I am too much of a wuss to move the picture and risk a gecko running up my arm. Do they bite?

And now for the two people who have smoothed the way at the Country House. This is Harish, the chef. He should open a cookery school or something. Give lessons to the students here.

And this man is Sunil who does all the rest...cleaning, admin etc. He sometimes cooks too. If you want anything, Sunil (& his bike) can get it...

Finally, the sunset. It coincides with the end of our school day. The sun doesn't do this in London. Here in India it kind of drops down very quickly. The slightly misty sky turns a deep red and the sun becomes a little orange ball. Every night it is the same. Note the picturesque water tower in the middle ground. Nice.

Something Is Changing

There are just a couple of days to go now before the exams. Something is changing, I am feeling a lot more confident. I think if I can retain what is in my head now, I will have a good chance. So, I must steer clear of alcohol, late nights, too much TV and try try try to avoid something like Delhi Belly. Or Dehradun Belly. Fingers crossed, all has been OK so far.

One more pic, this is me and the person who is responsible for turning me into a Red Hat Master: Shikha.

Note the advertising for Koenig Solutions, and the pretty fairy lights. Diwali is coming..these lights are just the start. I am led to believe that all kinds of madness will be happening in Delhi.

The Last Days In Dehradun

My how time flies.

The course is over, and we are now picking over the important details and applying them to some questions (the sort of questions I might see in the exam on Monday). There are so many flags & switches to remember, I'm pretty sure I'll forget some or most.

And as for rpm packaging....if that comes up in the exam I'll just pretend I didn't see it.

Shikha is busy writing more questions for me...

I am looking through my photos...did I mention the cows? They hang around on street corners, they disrupt traffic, they belong to nobody, they are sacred and we cannot eat them. Not even in MacDonalds.

They are street cows.

This one just came straight for me. I ran away.

And these grow in abundance at the Country House:

I believe that Koenig will not be renewing their lease on the Country House after Dec 31. Most students apparently prefer to stay at the apartments. So those staying in December will be the last. Its a shame as it is a lovely setting.

So, two more days of revision, then the train to Delhi, then Diwali, then...then...if I don't need a retake I have three days (Wed to Fri). I may try and see bits of Jaipur & Agra. The best bits hopefully.

RHCE Stuff

Oh lord. Today we covered ISCSI, network config, port forwarding, iptables and syslog. Tomorrow: package management, file encryption, samba, ftp and troubleshooting the boot process. This is the real meat of the RHCE (along with http & postfix). There seems to be an AWFUL lot to learn.

However I did just configure two virtual servers on my laptop, in different networks, that could route via the main desktop host. I could therefore test out my aliasing, port forwarding & firewall skills. All good. My brain is feeling fuzzy though. All I want to do is watch a load of South Park episodes that I have on my hard drive. Instead...back to revision.

Its less than a week now to the exams. I'm really confident about the RHCSA. Just a bit nervous about the RHCE. Fingers crossed.

This is me, in my room, studying hard.

  

Freedom

On Saturday night we got carted to and dumped in Dehradun, near all the shops. And all the restaurants. We decide to head up to Black Pepper...a well known restaurant here. The food was good, even the conical popadoms. Halfway through, a giant TV screen was turned on and we watched Man Utd beat Arsenal. Thank god we didn't stick around to watch Spurs v Wigan.

After this we all sort of went separate ways to the shops. The fact I am still here writing this is incredible. I have never felt so close to death quite so often as trying to navigate that shopping street. Motorbikes going the wrong way, no stopping at all for any traffic... And the fact that still all pedestrians use the road shows how bad the sidewalks are! Littered with rubble, and massive holes. Still, I am alive. I bought nothing though.

The next day, I went with Lukas up to Mussoorie & Dhanoulti. Our 9am cab arrived at 11am. He spoke not one single word of English. he took us up to Mussoorie, then spent the best part of an hour just driving round in circles. I think he was looking for the road to Dhanoulti but who knows? Eventually after we shouted stop at him (lots) he stopped in a car park. We thought he would wait for us there whilst we went out to explore Mussoorie but no! off he went again. So we jumped out. We never paid him. We never saw him again. But later on we discover he waited for us somewhere...although that somewhere was never disclosed.

Mussoorie is a lovely hilltop town. Dhanoulti? Dunno, we never made it there.

So we had lunch (excellent) here...good to eat some Tibetan & Chinese....

And we saw these:

And this:

And I rode on this:

Conclusion? Mussoorie is lovely, but get a good taxi driver!

Some Nice Photos

The Country House (again), some flowers, and a beautiful spider. Off to Mussoorie tomorrow. RH3 started today and looks a bit harder. And, curiously, we had penne & garlic bread for lunch. Am I now in Italy?